Warrior's Heart - A Digidestined's Tale
by JeremyGuardianofTime
Summary: A young man fights to keep the life he's always known but finds that there is much more to this life than he had ever imagined.


Warrior's Heart: A Digidestined's Tale ****

Warrior's Heart: A Digidestined's Tale

By Jeremy Keil

Section 1: The Digiworld Journeys

Part I: The Journey Begins

Hi. My name is Jeremy. I used to be an ordinary 17-year old, you know, smart, black belt in karate, absolutely no luck in romance. Then, one summer, something strange happened. I was mowing the lawn to my house for about the 3rd time that month. Suddenly, the wind started to pick up. Since I live in Oklahoma, I thought nothing of it, until it began to snow. _What the hell is it doing snowing in the middle of July?_ I thought. Amazingly, it snowed everywhere except where I had stopped the mower. Time seemed to stand still as a light dropped into the snow to my right. I picked it up and stared at a strange glowing device. Just then, I began to feel as if I was flying. The world around me disappeared with out a trace, and I lost consciousness.

When I awoke, a different world appeared before my eyes. My mind raced with a million thoughts at once, as I tried to piece together what had happened. Despite my major headache, I sat up and asked myself, "Where am I?" "You're in the Digital World!" a strange, horned head said from in front of me. "I'm glad you woke up. My name is Tsunomon." "My name is Jeremy. Nice to meet you," I replied. "Now do you have some ibuprofen or something? My head hurts like hell." Tsunomon handed me a piece of bark and answered, "Try chewing this." I reluctantly chewed on the bark, finding it had a minty flavor. Not only that, my headache was gone in no time. "Thanks, Tsunomon. But what are you, and what is this place? Looks kinda screwed up." "This is the Digital World, home to the Digital Monsters, or Digimon. You are a Digidestined, and I'm your Digimon partner." "I'm a Digi-what?" I exclaimed, standing up in about 2 seconds. "You're talking too damn fast. Slower, please." Tsunomon explained, "This a world where digital data comes to life. I am your Digital Monster, or Digimon, and you are my Digidestined. That's why you have that Digivice." I took out the device and looked at it. "And what do I do with this?" I asked. "You help me Digivolve so we can save the Digital World!" I shrugged, then clipped the Digivice onto my pocket. _Well, I guess I have no choice_, I thought. "All right, let's go," I half-sighed. In my head, I was thinking, _This must be some sort of Digital world. Everything starts with Digi!_

Then, out of nowhere, a huge red bug came flying at us. I was thinking, _Oh, damn. 3 minutes in a strange world and I'm going to be bug lunch._ Tsunomon jumped out in front of me and yelled, "Tsunomon, Digivolve to…" He transformed into a lizard-dog thing. "Gabumon!" My eyes widened as he shot blue flames at the bug. "Blue Blaster!" The flames connected with the wings, and I just barely ducked in time as the bug crashed behind me. "What the hell is that!?" I asked Gabumon, to which he replied, "Step back. That's Kuwagamon, and he's a nasty fellow!" I obligingly stepped back, ready to run any second. Instead, the Kuwagamon turned and walked off, badly injured from running into about 5 or 6 trees.

"Way to go, Gabu! You kicked its thorax!" Gabu turned to me and said, "It'll be back. We need to head for that mountain." He pointed his horn at a huge mountain in the distance. "Infinity Mountain's where we need to go." "Then let's go. But let's get something to eat first." We foraged for some berries, then started off for Infinity Mountain.

****

Part II: The Lion, the Switch, and My Wardrobe

After about a 5-hour walk, we came upon a cliff. Gabumon suggested we climb down it, but I was quite against it. My reason was that I didn't have my repelling equipment with me, but that was an out-and-out lie; I was scared of how steep it was. Gabumon talked me into it, so I found myself scared out of my mind climbing down a freakin' huge cliff. I slipped once or twice, but Gabumon was there to catch me. Lucky dog, he had claws. Me, not so lucky.

We reached the bottom of the cliff, and I was shaking like a blender on ultra high. Gabumon found some berries and made me eat them. They calmed my nerves enough for me to realize there was a gray and white dinosaur charging toward us. Gabu and I ducked behind a rock just in time. "That's Monochromon," Gabu explained. "I survive a bug and a cliff to be trampled by a dinosaur. Just great!" I yelled. That was a bad move. Another Monochromon appeared, and the two dino-Digimon started to lock horns. Meanwhile, my canine friend and I sneaked away.

Infinity Mountain was getting closer, but there was a lake in the way. I decided to bathe, because I'd been working harder traversing the island than I had been mowing. I found a nice, secluded spot in the lake and bathed. I should have known that even the water wasn't safe. A huge sea serpent came up from the water and roared at me. I yelled to Gabu, but I'd forgotten my Digivice was with my clothes. _Damn it, I don't wanna die before I'm 18!_ I thought. Just then, a lion came out and started to wrestle with the serpent. Gabumon identified the serpent as Seadramon and the lion as Leomon. The lion looked like it was having a little trouble. Fortunately, Gabu tossed my Digivice to me. Without hesitation or knowledge of why, I yelled, "Gabumon, Digivolve!"

What happened then I cannot explain. Gabumon glowed blue and said, "Gabumon, Digivolve to…" The valiant Digimon turned into a huge wolf before my very eyes. "Garurumon!" Garuru leaped at the serpent and fires a blast of blue fire at it, exclaiming, "Howling Blaster!" The lion cried, "Fist of the Beast King!" and shot a beam from one of his fists. Seadramon, looking somewhat scared, dove back into the deep, and Garuru reverse Digivolved.

After I finished bathing and washing my clothes, Leomon introduced himself as a good Digimon. "So few of us are left. Ever since Devimon took over File Island, the remnant has been waiting for the arrival of the Digidestined. It seems one has arrived already." Leomon told me a story about the origin of the Digivices and the destined Digimon. "It was foretold that the eastern Digidestined would arrive first, but you are from the west. Something must has gone very wrong to have to send for you."

"Why do you say that? What's so special about me?" I asked. Leomon replied, "It is said that one Digidestined from each of the four regions will become very powerful. Their Digimon will be the strongest of all. When these 4 come together, evil will be vanquished for good. You are the X-Digidestined one from the west. The first fellow Digidestined you meet will be the X-Digidestined from the east." The lion then disappeared into the darkness, leaving a burden of questions in my mind. I shook the questions away, then lay down with my Digimon for a night's sleep.

****

Part III: Alliance with an Angel

The next morning, we got an early start. Unbeknownst to me, Leomon returned in the night and laid a sword and scabbard beside my sleeping form. I woke up and stretched, but a gold glimmer caught the corner of my eye. I turned and saw the sword, with a strange symbol emblazoned on the end of the hilt, lying on the ground. I picked it up, shrugged, and placed the belt around my waist. It fit perfectly. Gabumon woke up, and we hacked our way through another forest toward Infinity Mountain.

About halfway through, I heard some rustling. I turned toward the sound and held my sword at ready. A figure leaped out of the brush and slashed down at me. I quickly parried with my sword. Suddenly, it dawned on me that my assailant was a beautiful girl of about 17. I lowered my sword just as a small cat-like Digimon appeared behind her. "I'm sorry," the young woman stated. "I thought you were an evil Digimon." She sheathed her sword, and I did the same. What was running through my mind was, _That girl is fine!_ She extended her hand and said, "My name's Angel. This is Salomon, my partner Digimon." I shook her hand and replied, "I'm Jeremy. My partner is…" I realized Gabumon wasn't around and called for him. He walked in and bowed when he saw Angel. "Hello, I'm Jeremy's partner Digimon, Gabumon." I noticed a symbol on the hilt of her symbol that was similar to that on my own. _She must be the eastern X-Digidestined,_ I thought. Angel and I talked for a little while, and it was evident we were hitting it off. Even Gabumon and Salomon were becoming fast friends. I suggested, "Since we're both Digidestined and we're headed to the same place, why don't you and Salomon join us?" Angel smiled and answered, "I was thinking the exact same thing." With new companions, we continued our way through the forest.

It didn't take long before we reached Infinity Mountain. I looked up and realized that the mountain was very tall. The day was ending, so I suggested we rest up and scale the mountain the next day. Angel, Salomon, and Gabumon agreed, and the two Digimon went to gather pine needles to make beds with. While they were gone, Angel and I watched the Digital sun set. I turned and looked at her. The twilight increased her beauty, and I couldn't help myself. She either couldn't or didn't want to stop me, because our lips met. It was only for a second, but it was apparent we were both in love with each other. We returned to our camping spot, where our Digimon were waiting for us. They must have been very perceptive, because they let us have the two middle pine-needle beds. Salomon and Gabumon drifted off to sleep first, then Angel, who was lying in my arms, and then myself. I dreamed good dreams and felt as if I was on cloud 9.

****

Part IV: Battle on the Roof of the World

The next morning, I woke up feeling energized. Gabu had already awoken and had caught some fish from a nearby stream. He and Salo had built a fire and were cooking the fish. Angel woke up not long after, and let me tell you, the morning sun well complimented her natural beauty. After a nice breakfast, Angel and I strapped on our swords and led the ascent.

Having previously braved a cliff, I was less apprehensive about scaling Infinity Mountain, despite it being much taller. Then again, we weren't climbing straight up. A path spiraled up toward the top of the mountain. In fact, the only difficulty was the thinning air. We climbed, or rather, hiked, up the long path to the top, where a not-so-familiar face greeted us. "Welcome to the top of the Digital World, Digidestined," a demon-like Digimon growled. "I was awaiting your arrival." I drew my sword and stared down the monster. Somehow I knew this was Devimon. "Gabumon, Digivolve!" I shouted, and Garurumon soon appeared. Salomon also Digivolved into a cat I unwittingly recognized as Gatomon. Devimon just batted the wolf and cat away. I felt anger surge within me, and I raised my sword high above my head. Strangely, Angel did likewise, and together we yelled, "Digital Force!" Garuru and Gato glowed brightly, as did our swords. Garurumon leaped into my sword and energy raced through the sword and into me. A similar phenomenon happened to Gato and Angel, and when the bright light disappeared, Angel and I were armored with metal tinted the colors of our respective Digimon. Devimon seemed unimpressed, but I could sense his fear.

I lowered my sword to a guard position and stared into the eyes of the Digiworld's tormentor. "Howling Slasher!" I jumped into the air and swiped a glowing blue blade at Devimon. To say the least, he was hurt. Angel roared, "Lightning Slash!" She swung her glowing yellow sword right through the demon's Digital skin. Angel and I looked at each other and crossed swords. Together, and loud enough for the whole Digital World to hear, we shouted, "Beta Blaster!" Green energy built itself into a ball at the intersection of our blades. It grew to grapefruit size, then shot forward toward Devimon so fast, not even a Super Saiyan could block it. Devimon was hit and started glowing bright green. Angel and I never took our eyes of the dying devil as he was deleted, bit by bit.

Angel and I powered down and put our swords away after our Digimon returned and reverse Digivolved. We then gave each other a congratulatory kiss, but our joy was short-lived. A yellow beam appeared out of the ground, and I heard someone clear his throat. We disengaged from our kiss and turned to see a small, old man. He stared at us and said, "Good job in defeating Devimon, but your journey isn't over yet. You must find the Crystals that will increase your Digimon's power. Only then will they be able to digivolve to the next level." "Next level? Crystals? Who are you? What do you mean?" I asked, reaching out to the man, but my hands pass through him as if he were a mirage. "Your questions will be answered in time. And by the way, my name is Gennai."

****

Part V: A Whale of a Time

Gennai started off, "Normal Digidestined need crests and tags to make their Digimon go Ultimate. However, you are X-Digidestined, thus you need Crystals and Chains. You'll find the Crystals on Server Continent. Where the necklaces they go on are, that I can't tell you. I have commissioned some transportation for you. You'll find it on the beach on the other side. Now, I've gotta go. My long distance service charges by the minute, and they round up." With that, the mysterious old man vanished, leaving a marked map behind.

With many questions on our minds, Salomon, Gabumon, Angel, and I descended Infinity Mountain and saw a raft. Without hesitation, we got on and shoved off. Following the map, we sailed west from File Island toward Server. Unfortunately, we met a whale. How matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get away from it, and it ended up swallowing us whole. The raft was not so fortunate; it was reduced to splinters in mere seconds.

Suddenly, the whale said, "Wait a minute; waiter, there's land-based Digimon and humans in my soup!" With a look of surprise, Angel shouted, "What are you, and why did you swallow us?" "Well," the whale answered, "you don't have to shout. I can hear you quite well. Name's Whamon, and I don't know why I swallowed you, but could you do me a favor?" I said I would, and he politely asked, "Would you please get that giant toothpick out of my blowhole? I can't breathe!" I jumped up and grabbed onto the remnant of the raft. It and I both came down easily.

After thanking us, the whale asked if he could take us somewhere. I stated, "We're looking for the X Chains. Know where they are?" "As a matter of fact," Whamon answered, "I do. I'll take you there. Might want to start chewing some gum; the pressure changes are killer." All four of us started chewing pieces of gum that I had just happened to have in my pocket. Personally, I think it was no coincidence. Whamon dove farther and farther into the ocean depths, and we chewed more and more as the pressure changed. After a long time, Whamon stopped and said, "20000th league, X Chains and pressurized caves!" Out we stepped, and the first thing we saw was…a mole Digimon. I somehow knew this was Drimogrimon, the mole with an attitude. Taking out my sword, I yelled, "Angel, I'll hold it off! You get the Chains!" She obligingly ran right beside me, who was fighting a huge nose drill. I blocked and dodged until I heard, "Got 'em; there's four!" Then I flipped away from Drimogrimon, sheathed my sword, and ran into Whamon's belly. "Server and step on it!" I cried. "I don't have any feet, so I'll just go quickly," the witty whale complied. He rose, and we chewed our gum some more. We were headed for Server, not knowing what we'd find there, but knowing it was not going to get easier anytime soon.

****

Part VI: Server Crashes and Monkey Business

Thanks to Whamon's expert sailing, we made Server in no time. Unfortunately, his sight is less than perfect, so we ended up running aground. Furthermore, he picked that most inopportune time to open his mouth, meaning that all four of us passengers when flying. I crashed into a tree and then fell to the ground, and Angel landed on top of me. Gabumon and Salomon fell to either side of us. After jumping to our feet, we looked around. I saw an orange blob in one of the trees, but it disappeared after only a second. _This trip's getting to you,_ I thought._ You're starting to see things._

Unwittingly, I raised my sword and held the flat side of the blade to my head. I could sense the invisible energy around me. It flowed in many directions, but I looked for just one direction in particular. When I found it, I slowly pointed my sword in the direction of north. "That's the way we need to go," I simply stated as I put my blade away. "Not so fast!" an Elvis-like voice yelled. "This is my territory, and no hound dog is going to invade it!" Gabumon obviously didn't like the remark, and neither did I as Angel & I cried, "Digimon Power!" Our respective Digimon jumped to Champion, then armored us. We raised our swords and stared down an orange monkey. "My name's Etemon, and this is my turf!" the monkey yelled. Acting quickly, I jumped and Howling Slashed at Etemon. The worst it did was shred his stuffed Monzaemon doll.

The monkey got ticked and threw a tantrum. "How dare you slice my teddy bear! Dark Network!" Cables came up from out the ground and bound me. I struggled, but I couldn't get free. Angel broke the cables, then tried to attack Etemon. She, too, was knocked away. Something inside me said, _This guy's an Ultimate-level Digimon. We can't defeat him as Champions!_ I lowered my saber, powered down, let Garuru return to rookie, then stated, "This guy's Ultimate. We'd better run." After Angel powered down, we ran north as fast as we could. The monkey, still very mad, ran off in the opposite direction.

"Who was that guy?" Angel asked when we had stopped to rest. I answered, "That was Etemon, the monkey who thinks he's all that. He's an Ultimate, and his Dark Network is able to de-digivolve a Champion like nothing. We've got to find the Crystals, and fast." At this Gabu said, "We're all tired. I think we should turn in." Since the Digital sun was indeed setting, I nodded in agreement. We gathered berries, ate dinner, and settled down for a good night's sleep. The Digimon fell asleep first, and I kissed Angel passionately just before she fell asleep in my arms. I thanked God for such good friends before succumbing to the call of Dreamland.

****

Part VII: Trio of Trouble

The morning came gently, and I woke to find I was the last one up. Gabumon and Salomon were eating fish, and Angel sat by the fire drying off. Even with wet hair, she looked gorgeous. I quickly kissed her, then stared eating some berries. We knew we'd have to start looking for the Crystals today. After we all had eaten and I had bathed, we broke camp and started north. We headed toward the location of a yellow blip on my Digivice that stayed stationary. Suddenly, a blue blip that was moving appeared on my Digivice heading in our direction. I turned and heard rustling in the bushes. A young male and a Tentomon appeared and stumbled back in alarm. The teen spoke with a Russian accent, "Who are you two?" I introduced myself and Angel, who then introduced our Digimon. I spied a sword around the young man's waist and recognized it as an X-Digidestined blade. "My name is Alexandros, and Tentomon is my Digimon. I am the X-Digidestined from the north." I shook his hand and replied, "Nice to meet you, Alexandros. I'm the X-Digidestined from the west, and the beautiful Angel is from the east." Alexandros merely nodded and admitted, "Angel is rather beautiful, but you two seem so close, I will not interfere." I wondered how he could have known, but I shrugged off my qualms and asked, "Would you like to join us? We're looking for the Crystals that will allow our Digimon to fully Digivolve." Alexandros smiled. "It would be my pleasure." 

Suddenly, I felt something was coming our way. I expressed my concern to Angel and Alexandros, and sure enough, we met up with a Mojimon. The yeti Digimon threw his bone at us. I managed to pull out my sword just in time to deflect it. "Digimon Power!" the three of us shouted. Alexandros was covered in gray armor. I initiated the retaliation by blasting blue orbs of energy at the gorilla and crying, "Howling Storm!" Angel and Alexandros fired a Beta Blaster at Mojimon. I built up energy around me. Alexandros and Angel did likewise. Together we yelled, "Delta Force!" Our energies combined in a huge sphere of power that flew toward Mojimon faster than a speeding Birdramon. The yeti ran off, but I ran after it. Reaching speeds I had never thought possible, I tackled Mojimon and brought him down. Flipping up into the air, I channeled my energy into my sword and fired a huge laser at the gorilla. Mojimon had absolutely no time to move. Mojimon ended up caught between a laser and a hard place. It deleted in 2 seconds flat.

After I landed on the ground, we powered down. Tentomon was impressed by my fighting prowess. I humbly stated, "I just do what needs to be done. Being an X-Digidestined just helped out a little." Gabumon, knowing my sincerity, nodded and said, "Honesty and modesty seem to be your best traits, Jeremy." I just half-smiled. Just then, my Chain started glowing. A tree with a crest carved into it glowed also. The crest was an hourglass, similar to the crest on the bottom of our swords. The tree shrunk into a Crystal and attached itself onto my X Chain. I looked at my Chain and then looked at Angel and Alexandros. I knew I had found my Crystal. Something told me we'd all find our Crystals soon, but first we needed to find the fourth X-Digidestined.

****

Part VIII: The Street Fighter and the Wolf

Angel, Alexandros, and I continued on our way through the forest. We had no idea where exactly we were going, but somehow how I knew we'd find out. I had the extra chain in my pocket, and I was wondering when Gabumon would go Ultimate. Just then, we found another tree with the hourglass crest. It shrunk into a Crystal, then attached itself to Angel's Chain. We walked on, wondering when Alexandros would find his Crystal. Gabumon and Salomon walked side-by-side, as did Angel and I. Tentomon flew by Alexandros; both seemed amused at the two romantic pairings.

We entered a clearing where a Monzaemon was rampaging. We figured he had either just woken up or was under Etemon's control, so we made our Digimon Digivolve. Garurumon, Gatomon, and Kabuterimon squared off against the wayward teddy bear. Garuru initiated the assault with a Howling Blaster. Gato followed with a Lightning Paw, which was in turn succeeded by Electro Shocker via Kabuteri. The attacks made Monzaemon stumble back a bit. The bear retaliated with a Hearts Attack. Our Digimon dodged, but us three warriors almost weren't that lucky. It was at that time I realized that this Digimon was Ultimate as well, though not as powerful as Etemon.

Suddenly, my Crystal started to glow. Garurumon glowed as well. With unparalleled determination, I shouted, "Digivolve now!" "Garurumon, Digivolve to…" Garurumon transformed into a street-fighting werewolf. "WereGarurumon!" I yelled, "Digimon Power!" I was soon covered in dark blue armor. Holding my sword at ready, I launched myself into the air. Monzaemon fired heart after heart at me, but I expertly popped every one. I powered up my saber and cried, "WOLF BLADE!" My sword sliced right through Monzaemon's right arm, severing it completely. I followed it up with another Wolf Blade to the other arm. The giant teddy bear was armless. Calling on all my frustration from the day before's battle against Etemon, I powered an Ice Beam that would put Articuno to shame. I let it go in fury and watched as the bear froze instantly. I powered down, and WereGaruru reversed all the way to Tsunimon.

Tsunimon recovered his energy and re-digivolved to Gabu. Salomon ran over to Gabu and kissed him so hard, he fell over. Angel walked over to me and gave me the most passionate kiss she could muster. I obligingly returned the favor. Alexandros and Tentomon just shrugged. After Angel and I finally quit kissing, we realized it was time to get some rest. Salomon made only four beds from pine needles. Knowing why, Angel and I shared a bed, as did Gabu and Salo. Alexandros and Tentomon had their own beds.

That night, I woke up around midnight. Angel couldn't sleep, either. She turned to me and smiled, then started to kiss me. Since my romance IQ was zero at this time, I thought nothing of this until she put her arms around me and french-kissed me. I let her keep kissing me, and soon we were making out. I won't go into specifics of what happened next. Let's just say we became so close, we became inseparable. In fact, we were literally a part of each other. After our make-out and more session, we fell asleep, still a part of each other, still together.

****

Part IX: Four of A Kind and a Pair

Angel and I were the first ones up. Since everyone else was sound asleep, we decided to have a little fun with each other. I was still holding Angel, so it wasn't long before we were kissing and doing other things. After one time, we kissed again before I let go of her. Our passion level was through the roof, so we washed in a nearby river to cool off. It worked, and when we came back, the Digimon and Alexandros were up. Tentomon said, "You two are positively glowing! You didn't have a wild night, did you?" I shrugged off the question and started eating some fish that Salomon had caught. After a nice breakfast, we headed inland some more.

Using my sword, we hacked through a denser part of the jungle. I heard rustling and held my sword up ready. Just then, I heard a female Australian voice say, "Well, Biyomon, I don't think we'll find the other three X-Digidestined any time soon." I called out, "Hello? Who are you? Show yourself!" From out of the bushes came a gorgeous female and a Biyomon. Alexandros seemed quite taken with her, but I just noticed she was there. Meanwhile, Tentomon's insectoid jaw was dropped at the sight of the Biyomon. The girl stated, "I am Jennifer, the X-Digidestined of the South. Who are all of you?" I introduced everyone to Jennifer and explained what we were doing. Jennifer seemed delighted. "I've found you guys at last! May I join you?" Alexandros made up our minds for us with an enthusiastic "Yes!" I handed Jennifer the X-Chain and nodded in the direction we were headed. With the team now complete, we set off for Etemon's place.

We saw an arena with twin trees in the center. Unfortunately, the trees were guarded by a DarkTyrannomon. I could see that they were Crystal Trees. Charging up my Crystal, I called out for Ultimate Digimon power. I got it, thanks to WereGarurumon. Using the Wolf Blade, I attacked DarkTyrannomon. Unfortunately, I only hit once before being batted away like a doll. I shot Angel a knowing glanced, and she caught my meaning. She called out for Ultimate Digimon power, and it worked. Salomon became Angewomon, and this gave Angel white and pink armor. We charged up a Beta Blaster and fired it at DarkTyranno. The black dinosaur was hit hard and started to run off, but I released an Ice Beam that caught him in mid-stride. Angel shot him through with a barrage of Celestial Arrows. The black T-rex fainted, leaving clear the way to the Crystal Trees.

We walked up to the trees. They shrunk and turned into Crystals, which fused themselves into Alexandros' and Jennifer's Chains. Angel and I powered down, then kissed each other for a very long time. We were almost ready for Etemon, but we knew that after we defeated him, it would only get worse.

****

Part X: Know Thy Enemy

We reached a huge lake out in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately, it was in our way. Jennifer and Alexandros wanted to go around one side while we went around the other, but I knew it was because they wanted time alone. Suddenly, I sensed an evil presence. It made me jump, and I ended up standing in the edge of the lake. As soon as my feet submerged, the lake split open, revealing a hut. I shrugged and said, "Let's see if anyone's home." We headed down toward the hut, which overlooked a drop-off.

The feisty old man, Gennai, greeted us. "Well, I was wondering when you guys would get here," he stated as he grinned. "Come on in. I have some information for you." He lead the way into his house, and as soon as he closed the door (the well-sealed door, I may add), the crystal-clear water rushed back into place. Gennai motioned for us to sit, which we did. "Now," he started, "here's what you need to know…

"No doubt you have seen a giant orange monkey around. That is Etemon. He is an Ultimate-level Digimon, like Jeremy's WereGarurumon and Angel's Angewomon. He is strong, that is true, but he is not your main enemy. That dubious honor belongs to this Digimon, Myotismon." He showed us a picture of a vampire. "He is the strongest Ultimate you will ever face. Only all 4 of you in Ultimate Warrior form will be able to defeat him. As of this moment, he is rumored to be headed for a gate that will open up the Earth to him."

At this I interrupted, "Why would he want Earth? It's bad enough as is."

Gennai replied, "Who knows? He's evil. Anyway, if he gets control of the Earth and the Digital World, all worlds will be in danger. That's where you X-Digidestined come in. You must destroy him. That's all there is to it. You will need to be strong, and teamwork is a must. Your battle with Etemon will be a good warm-up. After that, head straight for the portal." He handed me a map and 10 cards. "Nine of those card will send you to Earth if placed correctly. But beware: one is a dud. Nothing will happen if the dud is placed on the board where these cards must go. Only you must decide which is real and which is fake.

"One last thing before you go: take these with you." He handed us something called D-Terminals. "These will help you stay in contact with each other and with me. It's cheaper for me and easier for you. It'll help a lot when you're back on Earth. The D-Terminals can also locate and identify Digimon and Digidestined from around the world. You'll need to hook up with some of them in order to be successful. Now, head on out, and ¡vaya con dios!" The waters parted once more, and we headed toward the portal.

We hacked our way through the forest again, when suddenly my D-Terminal beeped. I took it out and saw it was showing an Ultimate in the clearing ahead. We moved on and saw the orange monkey doing his ego-trip thing. Angel and I powered up to Ultimate Warrior, and Jennifer and Alex made their Digimon digivolve to Champion. The fight was about to get started.

****

Part XI: Monkeying Around with Cards

We jumped out at Etemon shouting battle cries. My Wolf Slash made him stumble, and Angel's Celestial Arrows made him tumble. "Oh, hell, yeah!" I shouted. Kabuterimon continued the assault with a fierce Electro Shocker, as did Birdramon with her Meteor Wing. Etemon stood no chance, even as Kabuteri Digivolved. MegaKabuterimon turned Alexandros into the third of the Ultimate Warriors. We raised our sword crying, "Ultimate Delta Force!" Our sphere of energy raced toward the ape, catching him off-guard and deleting him. All that was left of him were shreds of his stuffed Monzaemon doll.

We immediately powered down and headed for the portal. There was a board with 9 spaces. There were three pictures over the columns: a lion, a centaur, and a bat. There were stars near the rows as well: one, two, and three, respectively. I piped up, confidently, "The pictures are types. The stars are stages. Lion = vaccine, Centaur = data, and Bat = virus. One star means Rookie, two stars mean Champion, and three stars mean Ultimate." No one dared to question my explanation. I looked through the cards. The only suspicious one was of Paildramon. I'd never heard of Paildramon, so I was confident it was the fake…that is, until I saw Pabumon. Pabumon wasn't even Rookie, let alone Champion or Ultimate. It was then I knew it was the fake. I placed the other 9 cards in the squares and prayed for the best as the doors opened. "There's no place like home…" I muttered as us four stepped through the portal together…

****

To be continued in Section 2: The Earth Journeys


End file.
